Rodney Bender was born in Australia on the 4th of March, 1956. He moved to Wales in 1978 where he has been living ever since. Following a number of years training in industry, Bender studied at Swansea Metropolitan University (formally Swansea Institute) and later became a lecturer there. Subsequently he was made Head of the Welsh School of Architectural glass. Bender is currently a Research Fellow at the University.
In 2001 Bender founded Innovative Glass Products, (IGP Ltd.) to commercialise 'KiloLux', a patented glass product he developed whilst at the University. It was developed for use in the facade walls of the Wales Millennium Centre in Cardiff, South Wales. 'KiloLux' is a novel material having the structural integrity and load bearing capabilities of a brick, but a brick that transmits light.
Bender also designs and fabricates glass for public art commissions and other design applications. Most recently he has been working on a limited edition bowl originally conceived by the architect of the Sydney Opera House, Jørn Utzon, and a glass sculpture for the Cass Sculpture Foundation conceived by the artist Wells Small.
Rodney Bender is a fellow of the British Society of Master Glass Painters and the Royal Society of Arts.